Cowboys Injured: Neville Gallimore Appointed Back From IR, DeMarcus Lawrence En route for Saints

Help is on the way for Dallas Cowboys. On the same day, they found out Head coach Mike McCarthy has tested positive for COVID-19, they also sent some good news to defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. Neville Gallimore, the defensive team that began tackling the problem in pre-season with a dislocated elbow, was assigned to return from the injured reserve on Monday, the team announced.

While Gallimore won’t be available on Thursday night, it’s a great sign he’s well on his way to potentially making his 2021 debut against the Washington Soccer Team in Week 14 – aided by the fact that The Cowboys have 10 goodbye days a week between their next two games.

Gallimore’s return infuses an instant potion into a Cowboys defense that has mostly played well in the absence of starters like him, DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory, but has also faltered once or twice and may reach new heights of dominance once the whole thing is under Quinn’s tutelage. The Cowboys ranked in the top 10 for allowed points per game before losing last Week 12 Las Vegas Raiders, and is currently in 13th place in the league in that category before heading to New Orleans (allowing only 22.7 ppg).

There’s Gallimore back in upgrades that sync both run defense and rush pass, and not long after Lawrence was assigned to return from IR – last week – and pro Bowl passer doing well in practice and picking rookies in the first round Micah Parsons make it clear that Lawrence expects and is expected to perform the field against Saints, though the Cowboys must first activate him on the 53-man roster before he can.

And then there’s Gregory, whose calf strain in mid-November left him on the bench injured. Gregory is also now eligible for a return assignment from IR and that feeling could happen over the next few days, with the hope that he will benefit from the extra activities during the aforementioned goodbye week to increase your chances of fighting Washington.

So if you’re holding onto the scores at home, then Gallimore, Lawrence and Gregory are all likely to be on the field together for the first time this season, and possibly in the Cowboys’ first game of the year. 2021 against their bitter rivals at FedEx Field. With the Cowboys sitting 7-4 and trying to bounce back from a disappointing November, everything they do in December will determine how special this season is.

With the whole return offense – that is, the return of Amari Cooper (COVID) and CeeDee Lamb (concussion) – and combined defense serves in that respect, NFL will finally look at what a complete Cowboys team looks like in 2021. And considering both sides of the ball have been or still are a threat in the top 10, it’s hard to overstate how dangerous they can be if can break them all together in their remaining six games.

All they have to do is find their spark (again), and their icy November will quickly give way to one of the hottest Decembers on record in Dallas.